Action Needed to Protect Koalas

We call on the Victorian Government to immediately cease all actions that further threaten koala populations.

In light of the catastrophic loss of koalas and their habitats from recent bushfires across Victoria, the government must apply the precautionary principle. This requires an immediate halt to all culling under so-called “health check” regimes and the recognition of koalas as effectively endangered in Victoria until transparent, comprehensive data on

population losses is available.

Plantation koalas must be excluded from woodland population estimates. Including plantation populations in official figures masks the true decline of wild woodland koalas and undermines effective conservation planning.

Reports from volunteer wildlife rescuers indicate a high number of deceased koalas across most fire-affected areas. In the Otways region, one of Victoria’s most significant koala populations, formal rescue operations have not yet commenced. Even in areas where WESN teams have been deployed, volunteers continue to find koalas that have died from starvation and dehydration, highlighting a preventable failure in emergency wildlife response.

These observations are based only on private land and non-government efforts, demonstrating that the losses documented so far are likely only a fraction of the true toll.

DEECA must not delay wildlife rescue in the Otways. Any further delay will result in preventable deaths from lack of food and water.

The government must urgently release data on the number of koalas found deceased or euthanised through WESN-based operations, and these figures must be deducted from existing population estimates in the publicly funded Koala Survey Report. That report must be released immediately to establish the true status of Victoria’s koalas and enable a credible recovery plan.

Full transparency is essential. The government must disclose koala health and

population estimates, the methodologies and data sources used to derive them, and clear plans for supporting both woodland and plantation koalas in the short and long term.

The emergency wildlife response led by DEECA has been delayed, disorganised, and ineffective. Poor coordination, delayed WESN deployment, inadequate public communication, and barriers placed in front of experienced rescue volunteers have resulted in unnecessary suffering and preventable deaths. This failure to meet even the most basic needs of wildlife during a crisis is unacceptable and will not be forgotten by the Victorian public.

In the Otways alone, where more than 12,000 hectares of bushland have burned, endangered species such as koalas and the long-nosed potoroo are likely severely impacted. Yet WESN teams have still not been deployed, and no specialist wildlife rescue or rehabilitation teams are operating in this region.

We urge the Victorian Government to act immediately:

• Halt further culling or euthanasia of animals that can be rehabilitated

• Release accurate data and reports without delay

• Commit to transparency and scientific integrity

• Implement a genuine, adequately resourced wildlife recovery plan

The survival of Victoria’s koalas—and the integrity of the government’s environmental stewardship depend on it.